A bloody mystery unraveled Tuesday night when Sheriff...

December 4, 1985|By James H. Tolpin, Staff Writer

A bloody mystery unraveled Tuesday night when Sheriff Richard P. Wille waved in his hand a warrant for the arrest of County Administrator John Dirtsberry, accused in the back-stabbing murder of Commissioner Dorothy Dilken.

The ``victim`` and the ``accused`` had shared a cigarette moments before the knifing during a high-brow party aboard the Ferrari One, an ocean-going vessel beached on the now-crumbling patio of socialite Holly Killnot.

That clue, which revealed a key mixing of victim`s and assailant`s blood, led Detective Sgt. Jack Maxwell and crime lab Director Richard L. Tanton to their man, the sheriff said proudly.

Then Wille, who was playing himself, added he hoped the crowd at the Hyatt Palm Beaches had enjoyed trying to solve the fictitious murder -- a crime devised to raise funds for the United Cerebral Palsy of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast.

Anyone correctly identifying the killer -- and there were about 10 winners from the crowd of about 30 -- won a door prize and bragging rights to having solved ``The Murder on the Ferrari One.``

The clues to the make-believe mystery, penned by Wille and other sheriff`s deputies, were discovered during the tale of how a terrible Thanksgiving storm forced the huge ship into Killnot`s wealthy Palm Cove estate.

On the eve of the rusting hulk`s removal, Killnot throws a party for some very exclusive guests -- soon to become suspects when Dilken slumps dead onto the ship`s deck.

``Who did this terrible deed?`` the script asks.

Was it Commissioner Karen Carcas?

Real-life psychic Carole Lynn Grant, called in to help solve the crime, announced that she felt a lot of ``energy`` emanating from Carcas` skirt, which was found at the scene.

Seated in the audience, real-life Commissioner Dorothy Wilken guffawed, commenting that the skirt couldn`t be Carcas` because it was too long. Next to Wilken sat Commissioner Karen Marcus in a dress that showed a good bit of leg.

Could the villain be Commissioner Ken Badams? A new Phillips screwdriver found at the scene, traced to a hardware store, led some to pin the blame on Badams.

But it was only a red herring. Although Badams, er, the real-life Commissioner Ken Adams, used to be in the hardware business, a deckhand told detectives the screwdriver was his.

How about Administrator Dirtsberry or hostess Killnot or Commissioners Jerry Towens or Ken Killias?

Finally, Wille announced that Dirtsberry, whose blood type was ``AB,`` and Wilken, whose blood type was ``O,`` had shared the cigarette, which was analyzed and found to show a remarkably rare ``AB/O`` blood type. The crime was solved.

Rose Shaw, an art teacher at St. Ann`s School in West Palm Beach and one of the super sleuths who solved the murder, said she chose Dirtsberry for two reasons: the psychic`s feelings that Dirtsberry was ``too cautious`` and, ``It was a good guess.``

Barry West, who does the morning show for country radio station FM-108, chose Killnot. ``It was mostly just a guess, because I was frustrated.``

Also choosing wrong was Don Quintus, a retired Long Island police officer who recently moved to the area.

But for Quintus, it didn`t matter: The point of the mystery was to help people with cerebral palsy, an incurable condition causing damage to muscles.